Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Rudy Gobert had 27 points and 24 rebounds, and former Laker Julius Randle added 23 as the Minnesota Timberwolves closed out their best of seven series with the Lakers 103-96 in five games. Luka Dončić led the Lakers with 28 points and LeBron James added 22, but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers' summer plans begin today.

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Wednesday is technically Game 5, but for the Lakers, it's Game 7, 1.0. 

Win, and they get another chance at another Game 7 on Friday, in Minnesota. 

Tuesday in El Segundo, from JJ Redick to Luka Dončić on down, the team expressed confidence it could still win the series. The belief in themselves, the talent, their stars and anything else athletes use to forge that belief is genuine. Tonight, it's win a game on their home floor, where...

24 hours (or so) later, the conversation hasn't died down. Did JJ Redick cost the Lakers Game 4 by not making a single substitution in the second half? 

If social media/responses on the Locked On Lakers YouTube page are any indication, most Lakers fans don't feel any better about what Redick did given a little space to think about it. So does time make the choice any better? Does it feel worse? And more importantly, perhaps, is it p...

As a matter of sports entertainment, Sunday's 116-113 loss to Minnesota in Game 4 of this first round series was unquestionably top notch. 

But for Lakers fans, it was monumentally disappointing. The Lakers blew a 10-point lead starting the fourth, and smaller leads later in the game. There were execution mistakes down the stretch. Anthony Edwards again outplayed Luka Dončić down the stretch, and JJ Redick's decision to play the ent...

Anthony Edwards scored 43 points and former Laker Julius Randle added 25 as the Minnesota Timberwolves took three games to one series advantage, beating the Lakers 116-113. Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 38 points while LeBron James added 27 in the loss.

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The Lakers turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 28 Minnesota points. They took 13 fewer shots than the Wolves. Luka Dončić had a stomach virus, and the supporting cast was, to say the least, lacking. 

And despite all that, the Lakers had every opportunity to win Game 3 at the Target Center. 

But over the last six minutes of the game, their mistakes finally caught up with them, and when the offense went totally cold—and Anthony E...

Jaden McDaniels scored 30 points and Anthony Edwards chipped in with 29 as the Minnesota Timberwolves took game three of their best-of-seven series against the Lakers 116-104. LeBron James led the Lakers in the loss with 38 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers hope to even the series on Sunday at 12:30 Pacific time.

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The Lakers face a stiff test tonight in Minnesota, where the Wolves (and their fans) host Game 3. 

Minnesota has been a very solid home team. The Lakers have been... not great on the road. The home crowd will be extremely fired up, and while the Lakers often get quasi-home games in another team's arena, this won't be one of them. But the Wolves might be a little more vulnerable than a typical playoff home squad. Why? Because recent ...

The eye test said the Lakers did a lot of things better in Game 2 than in Game 1 (beyond just winning the game). The difference in physicality was particularly visible on the defensive side, where LA was, for the most part, pretty suffocating all night. But it also showed up on offense, even though the Lakers only scored on more point on Tuesday compared to Saturday. They ran more action, set considerably better (and more frequent)...

It wasn't easy, it wasn't pretty, but it was enough to get the job done. 

With their backs against the wall, the Lakers needed a victory, in whatever form they could manage. To get it, they'd need to turn up the physicality, turn up the energy and bring some force to the series. And they did. LA's activity, especially in the first half, was outstanding. They built a big lead in the first quarter, and spent the rest of the game defen...

Luka Dončić had 31 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists while LeBron James added 21 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers evened their series against the Wolves, beating Minnesota 94-85. The Timberwolves were led in the loss by Julius Randle’s 27 and Anthony Edwards's 25. The two teams will battle it out in game three in Minnesota on Friday night.

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Monday in El Segundo, the Lakers were undo no illusion about the stakes in tonight's Game 2 against Minnesota at the Crypt. To a man, it was called a must win. Because while the series isn't over with a loss, winning three of four—with three of the remaining games in Minnesota—would be a very, very tall order. So it's go hard or go home, so to speak, with a big emphasis on go hard. Because that was a big problem in Saturday's loss....

There was a lot that didn't work for the Lakers in Saturday's Game 1 against Minnesota. For starters, the Lakers simply lacked the needed physicality and intensity required to compete with a team like the Wolves in a playoff setting. Why? It's hard to know. But it needs to change on Tuesday, and it's hard to believe the Lakers—hyper aware of their failures in that regard—won't bring it at a higher level. 

From there, it starts to ge...

After the first quarter, it was all downhill for the Lakers. Minnesota controlled the offensive glass, getting too many second chance points. They hit too many triples, too many of which were wide open. They pressured the Lakers into bad offense. The result, a 117-95 win for Minnesota in Game 1 Saturday night at the Crypt. Luka Dončić put up 37 for the Lakers, but overall the team's offense was a disaster, with very little ball and...

Things looked good for a quarter... and then the roof caved in. 

Saturday's 117-95 loss in Game 1 was a full menu of everything that felt concerning for the Lakers heading into the series. Controlling the defensive glass? Yeah, that was an issue. Defending the 3? Oh yeah, that was a problem. Avoiding transition opportunities? Not good! Too much frustration looking for foul calls? Too much of that! After that strong start, Minnesota ...

Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points, Anthony Edwards had 22, and Naz Reid added 23 off the bench as the Minnesota Timberwolves took Game 1 of their playoff matchup, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 117-95. Luka Doncic had a game-high 37 in the loss, as the Lakers hope to even the series in Game 2 Tuesday night.

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Friday, the Lakers announced that the team and Rob Pelinka have agreed to a contract extension that includes a promotion to President of Basketball Operations (in addition to his role as General Manager). On the surface, this will feel to many like a prize for simply having the good fortune of being handed Luka Dončić on a gift-wrapped platter. And no doubt, landing a generational superstar just now entering his prime never hurts a...

At practice Thursday in El Segundo, Dorian Finney-Smith made it very clear that the Lakers as a team are looking forward to opening the playoffs on their home floor, and absorbing the energy the crowd can bring. Because make no mistake, Lakers fans are hyped for this, and the Lakers as a team worked very, very hard to earn home court advantage. Hopefully the Lakers won't need it, but it's great to know the boost provided by a home ...